Paperboard chair

ABSTRACT

A paperboard chair with a seat, seat supports, back, and back support panels of corrugated cardboard adapted to be packaged, shipped, and stored in flat unassembled relation and assembled by an unskilled ultimate purchaser.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,717,377

Johnson [451 Feb. 20, 1973 541 PAPERBOARD CHAIR 3,331,634 7/1967 Harrison, Jr ..297 442 76 inventor: William J. Johnson, 8129 St. Paul, $1323 331 Dem", 48214 2,806,514 9 1959 Smith ..297/442 [22] Filed: April 21, 1971 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg [2]] Appl' 135394 Attorney-Barnes, Kisselle, Raisch & Choate [52] U.S. Cl ..297/440, 297/442 [57] ABSTRACT 23 47c ;;Z&3 :Z; A paperboard chair with a seat, seat supports, back,

[ 1 o earl and back support panels of corrugated cardboard adapted to be packaged, shipped, and stored in flat [56] References cued unassembled relation and assembled by an unskilled UNITED STATES PATENTS ultimate Purchaser- 3,463,546 9/1969 Giebel ..297/440 27 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEBZOIBB a, 7 17, 37 7 SHEET 1 BF 3 INVENTOR BY @M, M am;

ATTOR NEYS PAPERBOARD CHAIR This invention relates to chairs and more particularly to a paperboard chair.

Objects of this invention are to provide a paperboard chair which when unassembled is a plurality of flat cardboard panels which can be economically packaged, shipped, and stored, can bev readily manually assembled by an unskilled ultimate purchaser without any tools, is of economical manufacture, and is of rugged and durable construction having a longer useful life compared to most prior paperboard chairs.

These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are isometric views of a chair embodying this invention with parallel sides.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the chair of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a seat panel with integral sides of the chair of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a back panel of the chair of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the rear of the chair of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view on line 7-7 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a connection of the seat and back panels of the chair of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are fragmentary isometric views of the bottom of the chair of FIG. 1 in different stages of assembly.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are fragmentary sectional views on lines 11-11 and 1212, respectively, of FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a chair embodying this invention with arcuately spaced and radially extending sides.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a plurality of the chairs of FIG. 13 arranged in side-abutting relation to provide a curved corner section. FIGS. 15 and 16 are isometric views of a chair embodying this invention with contour seat and back panels.

REFERRING TO THE DRAWINGS 'FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a chair l0 embodying this invention with parallel sides 12 and seat and back panels 14 and 16. Seat panel 14 is carried by underlying seat supports 18 and 19 and back panel 16 is carried by back supports 20 and 22. All of the panels and supports of chairs embodying this invention are of corrugated cardboard. Preferably, the outer skin of this cardboard is colored to the desired shade of the finished chair by a printing process using an ink or dye and treated by a wax impregnation process to both protect the dye and provide a water-impervious, stain-resistant finish on the exterior surfaces of the chair.

Preferably, sides 12 are an integral, homogeneous portion of seat panel 14 (as shown in FIG. 4) formed by fold or crease lines 22. Both the seat panel and sides have homogeneously integral connecting flaps 24, 26, 28 and 30 on their front and rear edges. Back panel 16 has homogeneously integral lower and upper portions 32 and 34 formed by a fold on crease line 36 and side and top flaps 38 and 40. Rear flap 26 of seat panel 14 is connected to the lower portion 32 of back panel 16 adjacent fold line 36 by a plurality of fasteners 42. Each fastener 42 is formed of'a resilient plastic material with a head 44 and a shank 46 with a bulbous protrusion 48 on its free end with a slot 50 therethrough yieldably receiving and retaining a button 52. Button 52 has an aperture 54 therethrough slightly smaller in diameter than bulbous protrusion 48 and larger than shank 46 so that button 52 can be manually cammed over bulbous protrusion 48 and will snap into place behind the protrusion to retain the sheets of cardboard between head 48 and button 52.

As shown in FIGS. 6, II and 12, each outer back support 20 is formed by a cardboard panel 56 folded along a crease line 58 into a hollow support column with a generally V-shape cross section and folded outwardly extending flaps 60 and 62 and inwardly extending flap 64 along its inboard free edge, inwardly extending flaps 66 and 68 along its outboard free edge and a tab 70 at its apex. Outer back supports 20 are connected to both the upper and lower portions of back panel 16, sides 12 and seat 14 to retain back panel 16 in fixed relation to seat panel 14 and transmit at least a portion of any load on back panel 16 to the surface on which chair 10 rests. Back support 20 is connected through flaps 60, and 68 and tab 70, respectively, to upper portion 34, side flap 38 and top flap 40 of back panel 16 by fasteners 42. Back support 20 is connected through flaps 62, 64, and 66 to lower portion 32 of back panel 16 by fasteners 42. As shown in FIG. 12, back support 20 is also connected through flap 66 to sides 12 through flap 24. Intermediate back supports 22 are similar to supports 20. Each support 22 is formed of a cardboard sheet 72 folded along a crease line 74 into a hollow support with a generally V-shape cross section with folded outwardly extending flaps 76 and 78, inwardly extending flaps 80 along its free edges and tabs 82 at its apex. Intermediate supports 22 are connected to the upper portion 34 of back 16 through flaps 76 and tabs 82 by fasteners 42 and to the lower portion 32 of back 16 through flaps 78 and 80 by fasteners 42.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, seat support panels 18 and 19 are arranged in a generally sawtooth configuration underlying seat panel 14 and transmitting at least a portion of any load applied to the seat panel to the surface supporting chair 10. Panels 19 are connected at one end to the forward edge of sides 12 through flaps 28 by fasteners 42 and at the other end to lower back portion 32 through integral flaps 84 by fasteners 42. To provide increased lateral stability and clearance under the forward edge of seat 14 for the feet of a person using chair 10, support panels 18 are arranged in two pairs with the panels of each pair canted downwardly and inwardly toward each other (as shown in FIG. 3). The panels 18 of each pair are formed of a cardboard sheet folded along a crease line 86 and terminating in outwardly folded flaps 88 at the rear edges. Panels 18 are connected through flaps 88 to lower portion 32 of back 16 by fasteners 42. L-shaped corrugated cardboard brackets 90 and fasteners 42 connect front flap 30 of seat 14 to sides 12 and theupper front corner of seat supports 18 to front flap 30.

FIG. 13 illustrates a paperboard chair identical to chair 10 except that sides 12 and the outboard side of back supports 20' are arcuately spaced in radially extendingopposed relation rather than being parallel to each other. Seat and back panels 14 and 16' have a generally trapezoidal plan to accommodate arcuately spaced outboard sides of supports 20' and sides 12'. As shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of chairs 92 can be arranged in side-abutting relation to provide a curved arrangement of chairs for a corner section.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate a paperboard chair 94 similar in construction to chairs 10 and 92 but having inclined, generally flat portions 96 and 98 providing contour seat and back panels 14" and 16" with a generally V-shape cross section. Contour chair 94 also has only one intermediate back support 22' and only one pair of seat support panels 18 arranged in a generally sawtooth configuration with support panels 19'. To provide additional lateral stability, side panels 12" of chair 94 are canted or sloped downwardly andinwardly toward each other and the outboard sides 100 of hollow back supports 20" are inclined with respect to side panels 12" and slope rearwardly toward each other rather than being generally aligned with the side panels as in chairs 10 and 92. The seat and back supports 18', 19' and 20", and 22' are modified slightly to accommodate the V-shape contour of seat and back panels 14" and 16".

The various panels and supports of the paperboard chairs of this invention are formed in the flat with creases or fold lines and holes for fasteners to facilitate manual folding and assembly into a complete chair by an unskilled ultimate purchaser. Since the preferred sequence of assembly is the same for chairs 10, 92 and 94, the sequence will be described only in reference to chair 10. The sides 12 and various flaps of seat panel 14 are folded from the flat into the position shown in FIG. 4 and similarly, the various flaps and the upper and lower portions 32 and 34 of back panel 16 are folded from the flat into the position shown in FIG. 5. Back panel 16 is placed in a generally vertical position for connection to seat panel 14 which is placed in a generally horizontal position resting on sides 12. Back panel 16 is connected adjacent fold line 36 to the rear edge of seat panel 14 through its rear flap 26 by fasteners 42 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The stud 46 of fastener 42 is inserted through preformed holes in flap 26 and panel '16 and button 52 is snapped over bulbous protrusion 48 which urges the button and head 44 into firm engagement with the panels.

The outer back supports 20 are formed by folding flat panels 56 along crease line 58 into a generally V- shape configuration with the various tabs folded from the flat position as shown in FIG. 6. Flaps 66 and 68 along the outboard side of support 20 are respectively connected to the upper portion 32 of back 16 as shown in FIG. 11 and to both the lower portion 32 of back 16 and the rear end flap 24 of side 12 as shown in FIG. 12 by fasteners 42. Flaps 60, 62, 64 and tab 70 along the inboardside are connected to lower and upper portions 32 and 34, and top flap 40 of back panel 16 by fasteners 42. In a similar fashion, intermediate back supports 22 are formed from flat panel 72 by folding along crease line 74 and are connected along their free edges through flaps 76, 78, 80 and tabs 82 to lower and upper portions 32 and 34, and top flap 40 of back panel 60 by fasteners 42.

Seat supports 19 are connected adjacent one end to flaps 28 of sides 12 by fasteners 42 and swung into the position shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 with flaps 84 folded from the flat position and placed adjacent back 16. Seat support panels 18 of each pair are folded along crease line 86 into a V-shape and flaps 88 adjacent the. free ends are folded into an outwardly extending position. The two pair of seat support panels 18 are inserted between support panels 19 with flaps 88 of inboard 7 panels 18 lapping each other and flaps 88 of outboard panels 18 lapping flaps 84 of panels 19. Flaps 84 and 88 are connected to lower portion 32 of back 16. by fasteners 42. As shown in FIG. 10, front flap 30 of seat 14 is connected to flaps 28 of sides 12 by L-brackets 90 and fasteners 42. Similarly, the upper forward corners of support panels 18 are attached to front flap 30 by brackets 90 and fasteners 42 which completes the assembly of chair 10.

The use of a plurality of flat cardboard panels having preformed creases at fold lines and preformed holes to receive fasteners provides a paperboard chair which can be economically packaged, shipped and stored with the panels in a flat unassembled relation and readily manually assembled by an unskilled ultimate purchaser without any tools. The use of a plurality of cardboard panels with final assembly by the ultimate purchaser provides a chair which can be economically manufactured, shipped and marketed at a low price to the ultimate purchaser compared to conventional chair structures. The use of the back supports, seat supports and side panels in a plurality of generally triangular configurations, as well as the interconnection of these elements through the lower portion of the back panel when assembled, provides a paperboard chair of rugged and durable construction having a substantially longer, useful life than most prior paperboard chairs.

I claim:

1. A paperboard chair comprising a seat panel of corrugated cardboard adapted to extend generally horizontally, a back panel of corrugated cardboard adjacent a rear edge of said seat panel and adapted to extend generally vertically, seat supports of corrugated cardboard underlying said seat panel and extending generally vertically to transmit at least a portion of a load on said seat panel to the surface on which the chair rests and back support panels of corrugated cardboard folded to provide a plurality of hollow back supports extending generally vertically from the surface on which the chair rests to a point above said seat panel, said hollow back supports being fixedly connected to said back panel, laterally uncollapsable in assembly, and transmitting at, least a portion of a load on said seat and back panels to the surface on which the chair rests.

2. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back panel has an integral homogeneous portion extending below said seat panel and said seat supports are panels arranged in a generally sawtooth pattern with their ends adjacent the front and rear edges of said seat panel with the ends adjacent said rear edge of said seat panel connected with said portion of said back panel extending below said seat panel.

3. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back support panels have a generally vertical fold providing a hollow back support with a generally V- shape cross section, said back support panels being connected adjacent their generally vertically extending free edges to said back panel with their lower ends adapted to transmit at least a portion of a load applied to said back panel to the surface on which the chair rests.

4. The paperboard chair of claim 2 in which said back support panels have a generally vertical fold providing a hollow back support with a generally V- shape cross section, said back support panels being connected adjacent their generally vertically extending free edges to said back panel with their lower ends adapted to transmit at least a portion of a load applied to said back panel to the surface on which the chair rests.

5. The paperboard chair of claim 1 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard integral with and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.

6. The paperboard chair of claim 3 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard integral with and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.

7. The paperboard chair of claim 2 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof and being connected to one of said seat support panels in the generally sawtooth pattern of said seat support panels, and each of said side panels being connected adjacent the rear side edge thereof with one of said back support panels below said seat panel.

8. The paperboard chair of claim 1 which also comprises a pair of spaced side panels of corrugated cardboard with said side panels being in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relation to each other and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.

9. The paperboard chair of claim 3 which also comprises a pair of spaced side panels of corrugated cardboard with said side panels being in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relation to each-other and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.

10. The paperboard chair of claim 7 in which said side panels are in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relation to each other.

11. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally Vshape cross section.

12. The paperboard chair of claim 3 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contourseat with a generally V-shape cross section.

13. The paperboard chair of claim 8 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.

14. The paperboard chair of claim 9 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.

'15. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.

16. The paperboard chair of claim 11 in which said back apanel has a generally centerfold extending gener ly vertically erein and providing a contour back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.

20. The paperboard chair of claim 2 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.

21. The paperboard chair of claim 4 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.

22. The paperboard chair of claim 10 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.

23. The paperboard chair of claim 5 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.

24. The paperboard chair of claim 7 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.

25. The paperboard chair of claim 8 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.

26. The paperboard chair of claim 9 wherein the outer face of each of the two outermost back supports are inclined with respect to their associated side panels and toward each other.

27. The paperboard chair of claim 19 wherein the outer face of each of the two outermost back supports are inclined with respect to their associated side panels and toward each other. 

1. A paperboard chair comprising a seat panel of corrugated cardboard adapted to extend generally horizontally, a back panel of corrugated cardboard adjacent a rear edge of said seat panel and adapted to extend generally vertically, seat supports of corrugated cardboard underlying said seat panel and extending generally vertically to transmit at least a portion of a load on said seat panel to the surface on which the chair rests and back support panels of corrugated cardboard folded to provide a plurality of hollow back supports extending generally vertically from the surface on which the chair rests to a point above said seat panel, said hollow back supports being fixedly connected to said back panel, laterally uncollapsable in assembly, and transmitting at least a portion of a load on said seat and back panels to the surface on which the chair rests.
 1. A paperboard chair comprising a seat panel of corrugated cardboard adapted to extend generally horizontally, a back panel of corrugated cardboard adjacent a rear edge of said seat panel and adapted to extend generally vertically, seat supports of corrugated cardboard underlying said seat panel and extending generally vertically to transmit at least a portion of a load on said seat panel to the surface on which the chair rests and back support panels of corrugated cardboard folded to provide a plurality of hollow back supports extending generally vertically from the surface on which the chair rests to a point above said seat panel, said hollow back supports being fixedly connected to said back panel, laterally uncollapsable in assembly, and transmitting at least a portion of a load on said seat and back panels to the surface on which the chair rests.
 2. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back panel has an integral homogeneous portion extending below said seat panel and said seat supports are panels arranged in a generally sawtooth pattern with their ends adjacent the front and rear edges of said seat panel with the ends adjacent said rear edge of said seat panel connected with said portion of said back panel extending below said seat panel.
 3. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back support panels have a generally vertical fold providing a hollow back support with a generally V-shape cross section, said back support panels being connected adjacent their generally vertically extending free edges to said back panel with their lower ends adapted to transmit at least a portion of a load applied to said back panel to the surface on which the chair rests.
 4. The paperboard chair of claim 2 in which said back support panels have a generally vertical fold providing a hollow back support with a generally V-shape cross section, said back support panels being connected adjacent their generally vertically extending free edges to said back panel with their lower ends adapted to transmit at least a portion of a load applied to said back panel to the surface on which the chair rests.
 5. The paperboard chair of claim 1 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard integral with and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.
 6. The paperboard chair of claim 3 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard integral with and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.
 7. The paperboard chair of claim 2 which also comprises a pair of spaced generally opposed side panels of corrugated cardboard depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof and being connected to one of said seat support panels in the generally sawtooth pattern of said seat support panels, and each of said side panels being connected adjacent the rear side edge thereof with one of said back support panels below said seat panel.
 8. The paperboard chair of claim 1 which also comprises a pair of spaced side panels of corrugated cardboard with said side panels being in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relation to each other and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.
 9. The paperboard chair of claim 3 which also comprises a pair of spaced side panels of corrugated cardboard with said side panels being in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relaTion to each other and depending from said seat panel adjacent the side edges thereof.
 10. The paperboard chair of claim 7 in which said side panels are in arcuately spaced and generally radially extending opposed relation to each other.
 11. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.
 12. The paperboard chair of claim 3 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.
 13. The paperboard chair of claim 8 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.
 14. The paperboard chair of claim 9 in which said seat panel has a generally center fold extending therein generally between its front and rear edges providing a contour seat with a generally V-shape cross section.
 15. The paperboard chair of claim 1 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.
 16. The paperboard chair of claim 11 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.
 17. The paperboard chair of claim 12 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.
 18. The paperboard chair of claim 13 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.
 19. The paperboard chair of claim 14 in which said back panel has a generally center fold extending generally vertically therein and providing a contour back with a generally V-shape cross section.
 20. The paperboard chair of claim 2 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.
 21. The paperboard chair of claim 4 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.
 22. The paperboard chair of claim 10 in which at least one pair of adjacent seat support panels in the sawtooth pattern are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other forming an edge adjacent the front of said seat panel sloping downwardly toward the rear of the chair to provide foot clearance under the front edge of said seat panel.
 23. The paperboard chair of claim 5 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.
 24. The paperboard chair of claim 7 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.
 25. The paperboard chair of claim 8 in which said pair of spaced generally opposed side panels are inclined to slope downwardly and inwardly toward each other to increase the lateral stability of the chair.
 26. The paperboard chair of claim 9 wherein the outer face of each of the two outermost back supports are inclined with respect to their associated side panels and toward each other. 